We only had one night in Siena and so the choice of restaurant had to be just right. The Blonde had a stringent set of criteria that we’d had to be flexible on thus far: small piazza with no traffic, outside seating, friendly hosts, busy but not too busy and authentic with a heavy emphasis on seafood. Getting all the ticks is not as easy as you might think but with Renzo we got pretty close.
Situated on the small Piazza Indipendenza, Renzo is a stone’s throw away from the Campo but was relatively peaceful on the night we were there. The host used the international hand signal for ‘find an empty table and sit at it’ so we did. On the terrace the owners had largely dispensed with the convention of spaces between tables, either to encourage an atmosphere of bonhomie or cram the punters in. If everyone is in a gregarious mood, and the vino is flowing, this can make for a fun evening. Of course this may not always be the case. . .
A litro of perfectly serviceable vino rosso found its way to us with appropriate speed and we perused what was a fairly extensive menu. Several staples tend to find their way on to most Italian menus and are generally reliable. Renzo had a good range of antipasti taking in cold meats and crostini with other courses taking in the peasant influences of the area and featuring wild boar as well as sausages, steak and a limited range of fish.
We set about the dining challenge with gusto, starting with some robust crostini with a range of toppings including olive and anchovies. Il primo brought a delightful minestrone soup was shared (‘this is why I never buy the packet stuff’ declared the Blonde, a soup connoisseur of some repute) and was a bowl of ravioli – large but delicate parcels with a particularly solid tomato sauce.
Undaunted, we continued into il secondo. Be prepared – you get what it says on the menu. Salads and vegetables need to be ordered separately. The Blonde got her gamborini with just their brandy sauce and my sausage arrived firmly planted on a rather thick bed of polenta. The polenta proved to be a carbohydrate too far for me but the gamborini were pronounced a runaway success.
The proprietor took the completion of our meal into his own hands and furnished the Blonde with a decidedly sticky limoncello while the extent of my machismo was tested with a large grappa. Nothing brings a table full of strangers together like strong liqueurs and the accompanying facial contortions. It was at this point that I noticed the evening start to slide out of control.
Renzo is a very affordable and enjoyable place to wile away an evening but if the grappa starts to go down a little too well, beware.
Open for lunch and evenings (closed Thursdays).